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Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Vatican
City, 27 November 2013 (VIS) – The Pope is now concluding his
catechesis on the Creed, pronounced during the Year of Faith which
came to an end last Sunday. Today's focus, which will also be the
theme of next Wednesday's general audience, was the resurrection of
the flesh, our death and resurrection in Christ; today he analysed
the first element, our death in Christ, and will turn to the aspect
of our resurrection next week.

The
Pope first thanked the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square –
over 50,000 participants – praising them for braving the cold
weather that has affected the Italian capital in these days, and
complementing them on their “resistance” before beginning the
catechesis.

“There
is a wrong way of looking at death”, he said. “Death affects all
of us, and challenges us profoundly, especially when it touches
someone close to us, or when it strikes the very young or defenceless
in a way that appears 'scandalous' to us. I am always struck by the
question, 'why do children suffer? Why do children die?'. If it is
understood as the end of everything, death … terrifies us; it is
transformed into a threat that … stops us in our tracks. This
happens when we consider our life as a period of time closed between
two poles, birth and death; when we do not believe in a horizon that
goes beyond that of our present life; when we live as if God did not
exist. This concept of death is typical of atheist thought, which
interprets existence as a matter of appearing in the world by chance
and walking a path towards nothingness. But there also exists a form
of practical atheism, which involves living only for one's own
interests and for earthly goods. If we allow ourselves to be ensnared
by this erroneous view of death, we have no choice other than that of
evading death, denying it, or of trivialising it so that it no longer
frightens us.

“But
man's heart - the desire we all have for the infinite, our nostalgia
for eternity – rebels against this false solution. And so what is
the Christian meaning of death? If we look at the most painful
moments of our lives, when we have lost someone dear to us … we
realise that, even in the drama of loss, there rises from the heart
the conviction that it cannot all be over. … There is a powerful
instinct within us that tells us that our life does not end with
death”.

“This
thirst for life finds its true and reliable answer in the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus not only
gives us the certainty of life beyond death, but it also casts light
on the mystery of the death of every one of us. If we live united
with Jesus, faithful to Him, we will be capable of facing even the
passage of death with hope and serenity”.

From
this perspective, “we understand Jesus' invitation to always be
ready and watchful in the knowledge that life in this world is given
to us also in preparation for the other life, that with the celestial
Father. And for this there is a sure way: preparing oneself well for
death, staying close to Jesus in prayer, in the Sacraments and also
in the practice of charity. Remember that He is present in the
weakest and neediest among us. He himself identified with them, in
the famous parable of the final judgement, when he says 'Whatever you
did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you
did for me'. Therefore a sure way is to recover the meaning of
Christian charity and fraternal sharing, curing the bodily and
spiritual wounds of our neighbour”.

“Those
who live with mercy”, he concluded, “do not fear death, because
they face it directly in the wounds of their brothers, and overcome
it with Jesus Christ's love”.

Vatican
City, 27 November 2013 (VIS) – At the end of the catechesis at
today's general audience, the Holy Father greeted Ukrainian pilgrims,
Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk and the bishops and faithful of
the Greek-Catholic Church, in Rome to venerate the tombs of the
apostles Peter and Paul at the end of the Year of Faith, on the
occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the translation of the relics
of St. Josaphat to the Vatican Basilica. For this reason, the reading
preceding the catechesis was given in Ukrainian.

“The
example of St. Josaphat, who gave his life for the Lord Jesus and for
the unity of the Church, represents for all of us an invitation to
commit ourselves every day to communion with our brothers”, said
Pope Francis. “May the Lord bless you all, by the intercession of
the Virgin Mary and St. Josaphat”.

Vatican
City, 27 November 2013 (VIS) – Before this Wednesday's general
audience, the Pope met with a group of girls suffering from Rett
syndrome, accompanied by family members. Rett syndrome is a rare
disorder, almost exclusively affecting female children, which
seriously compromises neurological development and causes delays in
language acquisition and motor co-ordination. The loss of capacity
is, in general, persistent and progressive.

The
Holy Father greeted and caressed all the children, prayed to the
Virgin Mary with them and their families, and blessed all those
present.

Vatican
City, 27 November 2013 (VIS) – This morning, in the Holy See Press
Office, a press conference was held to present the “Healthcare
Mission for Syrian Child Refugees in Lebanon” promoted by the
Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”, the Bambino Gesu Paediatric
Hospital and Caritas Lebanon. The speakers in the conference were:
Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council “Cor
Unum”; Giuseppe Profiti, president of Bambino Gesu Paediatric
Hospital; Fr. Simon Faddoul, president of Caritas Lebanon; and May El
Hachem, director of the department of dermatology at Bambino Gesu
Paediatric Hospital.

“Helping
the Syrian population, regardless of ethnic origin or religious
belief, is the most direct way of contributing to peace-building and
the edification of a society open to all its different members”:
Cardinal Sarah explained that Pope Francis' words inspired this
project, in the hope that “these tragedies may never be repeated”.

“We
believe that the best gift we can give in order to help the children
who suffer as a result of the Syrian war is that of enabling them to
smile again and to be able to continue to live, accompanying them in
a growth that must be not only material, but also and above all
spiritual and human”. According to data from the United Nations
refugee agency, there are more than two million Syrian refugees in
the countries in the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean area, of whom
there are 700 thousand in Lebanon alone, 515 thousand in Jordan, and
460 thousand in Turkey. Of all of the above, around 52% are children
and minors below the age of seventeen.

To
supervise co-operative activity and aid distribution, an information
and communications office was established in Beirut last June, which
brings together all the Catholic charitable agencies in an area of
great historical and spiritual significance for Christianity. “This
structure, which will continue to be central also in the phase –
hopefully near – in which the conflict is brought to an end, is the
result of collaboration of charitable organisations, which in the
name of the mission of the universal Church have decided to share
their competences and their work of witness”, explained Cardinal
Sarah. He also commented that “This is the language that the
Church, all together, wishes to and must speak … to all those who
are in need in in poverty, not only material but also spiritual”.

The
“Mission” will begin in early December, and will have an initial
duration of three months. During this time, and with the funds
available, it will be able to give necessary medical assistance to
three to four million children.